What is going on in my Loom Room today

Ahhh it's still a rainy icky cold day here in Wisconsin...  no camping this weekend yet, and things are just blah outside.   So I thought I would treat my weaving friends who my read my blog with some photos.   And for the rest of you RV friends and family, you can see a bit of what I do in my Loom Room!


I am taking a little break this afternoon from all four looms to snap a few pics and jot this blog down... Today I have been cutting fabric up in strips.. using my Olfa mat and rotary cutter.  I fold the flat fabric up into multiple thicknesses and cut the width of strips I need for various rag rugs.

Steve and the kids got me the supersized Olfa mat many years ago..... I remember it well.   It was Mother's Day weekend when we happened to be camping, and on Friday and Saturday, he had to re-hide it from place to place in the camper, as I kept "almost" finding it!

I later found out:

First he had it behind the clothes in the closet... but then I was going in to get jackets to sit out around the campfire... oh oh he had to rush in and move it before I went in and saw it!

Then I was going in to make up the beds for the kids, and little did I know, he had hidden it in the compartment under the booth seat, underneath the sleeping bags!   So he had to rush to hide it again!

The third move was under the mattress of our bed...safe...  but then on Mother's Day morning, while the kids were piling on the bed and giving me breakfast, flowers, cards and hugs, we ALL had to get off the bed so he could slide out my hidden present!   Ahhhh what fun and what memories!

This is what I used the green fabric strips on... as border accents for this cotton rug woven in 3 end block weave... being woven on my 45" Newcomb Studio Rug Loom

Next rug up on the list is featuring recycling at it's finest!  This rug is made from factory waste leftovers from making upholstery fabric, and is sold in large bales to weavers. I mix up a blend of various colors that harmonize, and weave up some of the most delightful rugs!  The ends will have fringes with coordinating colors, twisted into braids that add to the style of the rug.

My friend, Chris, calls this stuff Elephant Chenille! 

It is really, really messy to work with, but it makes wonderful rugs! A mask is needed with working with this stuff as it makes a really linty fibery mess as you load the shuttles and beat the rugs.  This rug is being woven on my old Union Loom, that has been converted to a 4 harness loom.

When I get tired of beating the fibery stuff and wearing the mask, I quit on that loom and jump over to the next one (benefit of having more than one loom-- umm I have 6 or 7 or 8  I think now?) 

This rug is in soft pretty pastels in a log cabin pattern on the smaller 2 harness Union Loom.  I have woven about 5 or 6 of these rugs already and have enough of this fabric for one or two more. The rag color is the same, just the warp threads over each section make it appear to change colors.  Then I switch the order in which it is woven, and those blocks appear to change too. All an illusion of careful threading and tricky weaving!

This last rug I am weaving on my 36" Newcomb Studio Loom... This one is made to brighten my spirits on a gloomy icky day like today.  It's all bright colors of warp, ever color under the sun!  

And very springtime appropriate colors for the rags, in random stripes.  What fun! 

 Now that I gave you the tour of my four rug looms and what I have been working on, 

I am thinking it's time for an afternoon nap.  

YAWWWNNNNNN

Shameless plug---  many of my rugs can be found for sale on my website store:  http://kareninthewoods.etsy.com/

.

Pfundtner Easter Gathering–April 2011

(WARNING! --- this post consists of cute pictures of grandkids)

Ahhhhh once a year we take a turn to host a gathering of the Pfundtner Clan--- and since our home is too small for that many folks, we rent a community center hall nearby to handle the whole kit n kaboodle. 

 

We had our three children with their spouses and our grandkids attend:

   Heather/Jesse/Jameson                      Dan/Heather/Allegra                           Erin/Mark/Chelsea     

     

Also along were Steve’s older brother Mark, his wife Shirley and their new grandson, Lucas! They are so appy to have a grandchild of their own now, instead of borrowing our grandkids for cuddles at family events!  LOL    Just look at their faces …awwwwwwwww   Now we get to steal their grandbaby to cuddle!

(Steve’s niece Jen, and her husband Robert are proud parents of Lucas)

   

 

Steve’s younger brother, Pete, got a chance to play with Lucas too… and the great grandparents, Grandma and Grandpa Pfundtner got to spend some time with all the family around them to visit and enjoy

   

Steve’s mom, Maryanne, will be heading back to surgery again on Thursday.  Our best wishes and prayers for a speedy recovery are offered, and if any of you blog readers who care to send up a good word or prayer for her, it would be greatly appreciated.   She is such a trooper and a real fighter against all these obstacles she has to face.   I admire her strength and perseverance against the health issues she is facing.

 

Once everyone arrived the hall, we left the festivities begin!

The Pensaukee Community Center is only 4 miles from our home… the facility is brand new and has tables, chairs, a kitchen area and plenty of room for the little ones to run around. It sure makes sense to rent this hall, because sometimes our clan can number well over 30.  Some of the extended family didn’t make it to the event this time, but we had to book it 2 months in advance to be sure we could use it.   We had 15 adults and 4 children coming for this holiday celebration.

Erin and Heather helped man the kitchen duties and took a huge load off of me to pull the day off without a hitch. I was feeling much better after my trip to the ER on Thursday.  But having the girls to help Steve and I host the party was a tremendous thing.  Everyone else brought dishes to pass, and the meal went together just wonderfully! Steve’s brother Pete brought us vases of Easter flowers, and Erin and Mark brought me an Easter Lily.  All the food and planning went right on schedule as the guests began to arrive.

  

 

After a lovely blessing by Steve, we gathered together to feast and laugh and share our families. 

We had some spiral sliced hams, mashed cheesy taters, calico beans, two fruit salads, cucumber/tomato salad, veggies and dips, relishes, dinner rolls and many many plates of desserts!    The Grandkids ate very well, and Allegra taught Chelsea how to gobble down the black olives.   LOL   They loved putting them on their fingers first!   Jameson was nuts over his HAM and FRUIT.. two favorites of his!

   

Daughter Heather crocheted up these little bunnies for the kiddos.. how cute is that????

 

Afterwards, the daughters put together an Easter Egg hunt for the little ones.  The weather was a sunny 55 degree Spring Day… so everyone came outside to watch the little ones gather their eggs!  The hunt was on!

   

 

Then we took out the blow bubbles, sidewalk chalks and enjoyed the spring sunshiny day

 

The kids were so busy playing and running off steam…  and we were wearing off that heavy meal

  

Jameson was trying out his brand new bicycle from his Grandma and Grandpa Wade!  (don’t worry--- he will be getting a helmet tomorrow)  He is only 2 years old, and learning to ride a bike already!   Allegra is getting some help on how to play basketball from her Daddy.

 

Little Lucas came out to see the big kids on the Easter Egg hunt.   He was busy cuddling his new friend.  

Daddy Dan was giving Allegra some basketball lessons, and a little help to score two points.

 

 

It was Steve’s birthday last week, and big brother Mark’s birthday next week.. Grandma Pfundtner brought a birthday cake for both of her boys.  It seems that they NEVER grow up! 

Imagine that, they are now both GRANDFATHERS!!!    and still goofing around like 8 year old boys….

 

We were festive and flowery and full of family fun!

All three of our kids and their spouses chipped in and cleaned up the hall afterwards, so it was all spic and span when we were ready to turn in the key and leave.  How nice is that? 

We were told all of the little kids were FAST ASLEEP before their parent’s cars even reached the highway!!!

I am so thankful that everyone travelled so far to come to our gathering.  It can be a tough time of year to host Easter when you live up in Northern Wisconsin where we do.  Sometimes it can sunny and pleasant, or it can be snowy, icy, cold and terrible driving conditions too (like Wednesday night was)   

 

It was a wonderful day with our family… and I got in tons of Granmuddah Pfun cuddles!!!

 

The End

Paging Doctor Stanko, Paging Doctor Stanko???

Well, the week started out pretty good....

But dang! By Wednesday afternoon, the old belly troubles started creeping up on me.  By Thursday morning, I was writhing in pain and needed a trip to the hospital.  Steve hauled me off in the car about 4:30 a.m. ... only to discover the highway was coated in black ice, there were accidents all over and the highway was shut down for miles on end.  

We were re-routed along frontage roads, around flashing cop cars, and ambulances, and tow trucks, back and forth over the highway.  What should have taken only 25 minutes tops, ended up taking over an hour!   

Did I mention, yes, with me writhing in pain in the back seat?

Whew!  Paging Doctor Stanko, Paging Doctor Stanko....      oops too early for my own gastro doc.... so I get a Doctor Zifferblatt !~!!!   And no, I am NOT making up that name... it's REALLY a Doctor Zifferblatt!

I have been down this road multiple times before for severe gastric distress, due to the complications of some past surgeries.  So they have all my files on hand and they know what to give me to get me stablized. 

They got me in, had me chug a purple cocktail with lidocaine in it to numb me as it went down, then a lovely shot of morphine.   Yes, Morphine Is My Friend!   Ahhhhhhhhh   It flowed right down my body from the shoulders to the toes.  Once that hit the old body, I could relax and stop spasming. Then it was tests and more tests and hauling me down the hallways for some xrays and cat scans....

I was wheeled along on that narrow gurney through the halls in my barely there open-backed gown.  Aren't those lovely?   But I insisted that I take along my fuzzy blankie I brought from home.   They parked me in the cold drafty busy hallway for half an hour waiting for the Xray room to be ready....   and they plug in a little cord into the wall and hand you the other end with a tiny push button like on Jeopardy!    "Can I have Medical Science for $200, Alex?"   

So there I lay, in a morphine haze, with people flying by my little cart, where my butt could be hanging out for all the world to see, for all I know.   Remember those black ice and car accidents I mentioned on the way in?  Yes... they were overrun with accident victims too!  Oh joy!  So I had to wait my turn while the seriously injured folks got their stuff done.  I didn't care, I had my morphine!  

Then I had to gulp 2 big glasses of orange barium and wait an hour for the CAT scan!   Back on my little cart, parked in the hallway, with my little jeopardy button in my hand----  "Can I have Scientific Inventions for $500, Alex?" 

I was finally returned to a glazed and dazed Steveio, waiting back in the little room at the ER.  I rested and he watched me sleep.  They determined the previously diagnosed bleeding section of my smaller intestine is now infected, swollen and closed off.  Fun, huh?   So now I get loaded up with some IV drugs to fight infection and swelling and I got to sleep on that tiny gurney cart... cuddled in by my blankie.   After five hours, they stabilized me enough to send me home again.  Whew. 

Clear liquids, yummy jello and soup broth, then followed by bland diet, and now some followup appointments next week with my good gastro doc,  Doctor Stanko.  Who, by the way, was OFF on Thursday so he let the good Doctor Zifferblatt handle my case.   Oh boy, my little leprechaun Doctor Stanko, whom I adore, are you gonna get an earful from me on Tuesday!   LOL 

I came home and slept all day and all night and into the next day....  I guess I needed it, huh? And I am feeling much much better now. 

Today (Saturday) my folks came down to see me from Michigan... so I got some good Momma Hugs and Lowell Kisses and I got to see them before they head back to Florida on Monday.  Crazy folks, going south this time of year?   Hope they will be back up soon with the motorhome and we can go camping!

So things are going fine here, and our family Easter gathering is still on schedule.  Luckily, we had shopped ahead of time and had all we needed to have for the big meal we are hosting.  Today Steve and I made calico beans and made lists of all the things to bring to the rented hall for tomorrow.  We only have to toss in the hams to the nesco roaster and whip up the mashed potatoes in the morning.  The rest of the family is all bringing dishes and the girls are coming early to help with last minute stuff.  All I have to do is rest and enjoy my little grandkiddies.  

Soooo my next blog should be all rainbows and sunshine and grandkids and laughter and NO more bad bellies! 

In the meantime, my darling Steveio stoked up the fireplace and made it comfy cozy here at home for me to relax and rest.

Heather's Car Troubles - But we got to see the last grandkid !

About 3 pm yesterday, we got a frantic phone call from our daughter, Heather.   "Mom?  How can I get my key unstuck from IN my ignition???"
 
She was stranded in a gas station, near her place of work, and had to be to work for 3:30.  She could not start the car or remove the key, because it seems something slid and broke inside of her ignition.  The key could come part way out and that was it.  ACK!  We tried suggesting all of the tricks of turning the steering wheel back and forth, running the car through all of it's shifting positions, or just finally pounding the key back into the lock.  Nothing worked.   She was 35 miles from here, so we couldn't just run and help her.

She called into work and told her boss that she would be delayed.  Turns out her father-in-law Kevin was nearby on the way home from his work, so she called him and he stopped to help.  He tried everything he knew of, and used his brute force even.  Nothing worked.  But he knew a friend, who was a locksmith, who came there a little while later.  They managed to get the key back into the ignition and got the car turned on, but could NOT turn it OFF!   Sooo they showed her how to remove the battery cable and short it out against the frame (dangerous method) to get the engine to turn off.  

Now it was over an hour later, so she called back to work and took a personal day off, which was fine with the boss.  She drove the car right up here to our house, being followed by Jesse with little Jameson in their other car.  Wheeee!  I get to see the grandson and give him his souvenirs now too!  (we were going to wait till Easter)

So we tossed a few pizzas in the oven, and I whipped up a batch of cookies while they were on their way driving up here.  Good Granmuddah's always have cookies, right?  I even had Easter Bunny sprinkles to put on them!

They got to our house, and the guys brought the car right over to Lyle Piontek's shop nearby --- he works on only Saturn cars and has always done good repairs for us at a reasonable price if it was something we could not do right here at home.  He has a lot of junked Saturns to rob parts from too.   He said he would put on a complete steering column and ignition (used)  as her problem was in  both the wiring switch and mechanical lock that has worn a hole right through something.  So they left the car there and came back for pizza at our house.   Her car will be done in a few days and she can pick it up on Easter.  They can manage with just one car, because Jesse works days and is home by 3pm, and Heather works evenings and needs to be to work by 3:30.   They also don't need a day care for Jameson by having that kind of schedule.

In the meantime, I got to have a little Jameson visit with us---  after not seeing him for two months--- what fun!   We gave them all their souvenirs from our trip Out West.    The kids loved their pottery and the Mexican picnic blanket too....

Yes, that is a tequila flavored sucker with a WORM in it!   I hid them inside of each piece of Mexican Pottery that we got for each couple.   (got worm suckers for all three guys, our son and sons-in-laws)  

"C'mon Granmuddah, sit on our blanket and please read me my favorite story? 

"Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?"

Jameson got a new jogging suit instead of a Mexican Senorita Dress... LOL  It has guitars and says "Rock N Roll" on it.  He was more interested in his articulated snake and dragonfly puppet and little plastic bugs and snakes and worms!  Total "BOY" through and through-----

I got a shot of Jameson on his blanket, now I have one of all three kids on each of theirs! 

After we had our pizza, Erin came over with little Chelsea for a visit, as Mark had to work late.   

So both kids got out the color crayons and I got some new Refrigerator Art to hang up!!!

Sure wish little Allegra had been here too, we need some Refrigerator Art from her now. 

With lots of hugs and kisses, we said goodbye to the little ones.   On Easter Sunday we will all be together, along with Allegra too... and the rest of Steve's family.  We are renting the hall in Pensaukee again this Easter for our family gathering and meal.  There will be a lot of room for the kiddos to run around, and plenty of space for family, visiting, the meal and just gathering in love for the Holiday.

We are hunkering down in the meantime, as a big big storm is heading our way.  Hope this is the Last Blast of Winter, and we can look forward to SPRING???



URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREEN BAY WI
953 PM CDT MON APR 18 2011

...A LATE SEASON STORM WILL BRING WINTER PRECIPITATION TO NORTHERN
AND CENTRAL WISCONSIN...

IN ADDITION TO THE SNOW...STRONG NORTHEAST WINDS ARE EXPECTED
TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND TUESDAY NIGHT. BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IS
POSSIBLE IF TEMPERATURES FALL A FEW DEGREES BELOW FREEZING. THE
STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY WET SNOW COULD ALSO CAUSE DAMAGE TO TREES
AND POWER LINES.

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM TUESDAY TO 10 AM CDT
WEDNESDAY...

* THE STORM IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE A BAND OF 6 TO 10 INCHES OF WET
 PACKING-TYPE SNOW. THE HEAVIEST SNOW BAND IS MOST LIKELY TO SET
 UP JUST TO THE NORTH AND WEST OF GREEN BAY AND THE FOX CITIES.

Dreary Winter Week ahead of us

Now that we are home from our vacation, we are trying to catch up on things around the house.  How depressing is that?  So I didn't have much to write about all week for a blog.  Once the excitement of the vacation is over, it's not too interesting to read about coming back home and feeling like drudge drudge drudge!

For any of you new readers, here is the first post about our vacation as we took off 2 months ago:

http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/2011/02/vacation-heading-south-from-wisconsin.html

The bright spots about coming home are the grandchildren!   We were able to go see Chelsea right away, as they live close by and we went to town to get the rest of our mail (Erin had been picking it up for us every few weeks)   We brought her some souvenirs, and enjoyed seeing her again.

At first, she stood far away and stared at us! Almost broke my heart, thinking we had been gone too long and she forgot us!  But soon she was flying into my arms, and cuddling in my lap.   I got lots of hugs and kisses too.  She was her silly girl self in no time.

We brought them a Mexican woven blanket to be used for picnics... 

which little Chelsea sat herself down in the center of the big star to try it out. 

She put on her dainty little Mexican Senorita dress, and was twirling and spinning with the pretty lace around her ankles. It was hard to get her to stand still for a few shots.

We came home just in time... because this week Chelsea's little day care had some festivities planned.  On Wednesday, they had a little parade through the downtown of our city, with the older kids marching and singing, waving pompoms. The younger ones got to ride along.  Here is Chelsea, up front with little Finn on the 6 seater kiddie stroller!   Wave those pompoms, kiddies!

They even went though the local City Hall, in the front door, down the long hall, and stopping at the big banquet room in the back where the Senior Citizens were having their Meal Site day...  they sure enjoyed seeing all the little ones on their parade!  Then out the back door and down the sidewalk back to the day care.

I was invited to a special Pancake Breakfast at the daycare.  And yes, Chelsea even fed me pancakes! 

 And what can be more fun than a box?  They crawl in and out and let the flap come down to hide out... the older kids at the day care center "decorated" it for the little kid room.  How cute is that?

Steve went back to work on Wednesday as planned, but he was coming down with the same horrible flu/cold I had during the last few days of vacation in Missouri. I guess I "shared"  huh?   He felt so awful Thursday morning, that he tried to get ready to go into work, but was so ill he had to get undressed and crawl back into bed. I know JUST how he felt!  You know he has to be REALLY sick to miss a day of work, and especially having tons to catch up on there, it's going to be a long haul for him to start getting back into the swing of things.  Two more people in his department abruptly retired quick while he was gone, in the wake of our new Gubbner Walker Budget Cuts.  Of course replacement staff will probably not be hired.  That makes even more work for Steve's department.    More work, less guys. 

The weather here has been very depressing too.. this is what we woke up on Saturday morning:

Rain, sleet and then finally ...snow... 

Next up on the souvenir list was little Allegra... we drove down to Green Bay on Saturday to see her.  Again, she too gave us the Ole StinkEye when we came in, as if to say: "Who are you Crazy People?"   But soon she was doing high fives and knucks with us,  Daddy put on her little Mexican Senorita Dress to dance around in.

and Mommy showed her how to play her maracas.  

  

What a little nut, she was soon all over the place, enjoying the attention of having her Granmuddah and Granfaddah Pfun come to visit.

We didn't get to visit Jameson as he was gone to a birthday party while we were in Green Bay.
So we will be seeing him on Easter and will give him his souvenirs then.  

We did a pile of grocery shopping at Aldis in Green Bay, and drove back home.

We holed up for the rest of the weekend in our easy chairs, Steveio with his laptop going,
and I, with the sock machine a-cranking.  

I had to finish up 5 pairs for friend Lisa, and 8 pairs for friends Jeanie & Ray and then 4 more pairs for some friends of theirs!  Whew... so it was a crank-a-thon during the depressing dreary icky weather.  

(these are all spoken for--- but I can knit new ones for anyone who wants them) 

We did get a bit of sun poking through the trees for sunset on Sunday, 

so I snapped a few shots from the back deck, through the bare woods towards the river. 

  The water level is way up, about 6 inches below "flood stage" right now, 

and will be much higher before the end of the week. 

Why????  Just look what our forecast says for tomorrow night????

Here is a current Winter Storm Watch for Home (Oconto, WI) until 1:00pm, Wed Apr 20 2011, from your local National Weather Service office. URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREEN BAY WI 628 AM CDT MON APR 18 2011 ...LATE SEASON WINTER STORM EXPECTED TO BRING A BAND OF HEAVY SNOW TO THE REGION TUESDAY AFTERNOON INTO WEDNESDAY... .LOW PRESSURE WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS TUESDAY MORNING...THIS TRACK WILL LIKELY RESULT IN A BAND OF HEAVY SNOW SOMEWHERE ACROSS PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST WISCONSIN. THERE IS STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY IN THE TRACK OF THE STORM AND HOW MUCH WARM AIR WILL WORK INTO THE SYSTEM...SO THE EXACT LOCATION OF THE HEAVY SNOW BAND IS STILL IN DOUBT. BUT REGARDLESS OF WHERE THE HEAVIEST SNOW FALLS...THE STORM IS LIKELY TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON TRAVEL ACROSS ALL OF CENTRAL AND NORTHERN WISCONSIN. * THE STORM IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE A BAND OF 6 TO 10 INCHES OF  WET PACKING-TYPE SNOW. ALTHOUGH STILL SOMEWHAT UNCERTAIN...THE  MOST LIKELY SCENARIO IS FOR THE HEAVY SNOW BAND TO SET UP TO  THE NORTH AND WEST OF GREEN BAY AND THE FOX CITIES.